Another Cinderella Story
by msdownwithlove
Summary: Once upon a time there was a girl whose name was Astrid Hofferson and who wanted to attend a big Christmas party for a chance to meet her prince. Classic story about Cinderella, a prince and a crown-shaped birthmark Cinderella needs to find before midnight.
1. Prologue, in which a fairytale begins

**Hi, everybody! Happy New Year and, please, enjoy this story! **

**Prologue, in which a fairytale begins**

…_A woman stood in the kitchen; her skillful hands were making sandwiches her husband loved the most - with ham, cheese, tomatoes and salad - when a loud __**pop **__startled her. She turned____around quickly to see her partner with an opened bottle of champagne at the entrance. _

"_Gods, you've scared me!" she exclaimed, her right hand on her chest as if she had a heart attack._

"_Sorry, honey," he smiled apologetically and nodded in the cupboard direction. "Fetch glasses, please."_

_His wife obeyed by taking two glasses out and placing them on the dinner table._

"_What's the cause?" she asked as he filled them with sparkling wine and handed one over to her._

"_Today we celebrate ten years of abiding love, infinite happiness and unique relationship," the man proposed a toast whereas his wife covered her opened wide mouth with her hand. "Happy anniversary, my love!"_

"_I can't believe I've forgotten about it!" she giggled and took a sip from her glass. Oh, that champagne was really good!_

"_Luckily, I haven't," the big man chuckled and fished a large velvet box out his pocket. "This is for you!"_

_He opened it, revealing an expensive diamond necklace, which left his woman utterly speechless. _

"_OMG," she managed after a while, still shocked, but when her fingers touched the stones her heart was ready to burst with joy. _

"_Try it," her husband encouraged and reached the box out to her. _

_Her fingers were shaking as she finally put it on and turned to the cupboard to look at her reflection in the glass. _

"_That's not all," her man said behind her back. She whipped round, frowning._

"_What do you mean that's not all?"_

_He handed her his wallet, a blue folder and keys. _

"_These are all my credit cards, share holding of my company, your driving license, keys of my Bentley and – behold !- our divorce certificate!" _

_A woman screamed happily and hugged him, saying:_

"_You are the best!"_

"That's _not_ a fairytale!" a dissatisfied child's voice interrupts her dreams and a young blond woman opens her eyes to face her five years old niece with pouted lips and crossed arms. She sighs deeply, determined not to lose to a small but very smart girl.

"Oh, my sweet summer child, it's the most realistic fairytale of all fairytales in the world!" she insists and shifts into more comfortable position in her armchair before girl's bed. "Just listen to the end!"

_So that single but very rich princess booked a ticket and immediately flew to Milan where she bought new and very expensive shoes…_

"I want a real fairytale!" the girl cuts her off again. "A fairytale where a princess and a prince meet, fall in love and get married! That's a fairytale! No divorce, no drama!"

"But it's boring!" her Auntie tries but fails miserably as her niece frowns just like her mom.

"I _will_ tell Mommy that you are wearing her favourite emerald earrings then!"

Though the woman is the elder sister, she isn't that hardheaded as the rest women in their family and by her experience it's useless to argue with such ones.

"Gods, I have no idea whose stubbornness you've inherited – your mom's or your dad's," she groans making the girl smile widely and so charmingly. "You want a fairytale, you get it, little terror!"

Her niece jumps on her bed, throwing fists in the air and celebrating her victory over her disarmed aunt. The excitement she radiates is so powerful and catching that her babysitter grins against her will. _She is so spoiled_, she thinks, but _so innocent and perfect at the same time. No wonder her parents took a day off from their duties._

"Behold the most beautiful, interesting and mind-blowing Cinderella story!" she begins, her voice low and designing, as her niece's eyes grow wider and wider until she stops. "But firstly, you need to get under your blanket and put your smart little head on this soft pillow!"

The girl chuckles but obeys, accepting the rules, and as soon as she is in her bed, she demands: "Another Cinderella story!"

Her auntie leans on the back of her chair and starts the narrative, smiling:

_Once upon a time, when half of people in this room wasn't born yet so she couldn't blackmail her poor auntie, there was a girl whose name was Astrid Hofferson… _


	2. Chapter 1, in which an invitation comes

**Chapter 1, in which an invitation comes and goes**

_Once upon a time there was a girl whose name was Astrid Hofferson. She was twenty but worked hard and a lot to pay for university. She wasn't beautiful as she always wore jeans, a buggy jumper and braided her long blond hair into one simple plait; just a small town girl trying to survive in such big city as Berk. _

_It was the end of December, a few days before Christmas, when Astrid and her best friend Heather Berserker walked out a campus. _

"_I can't believe I can forget about these boring books, chapter analyses and I can finally stop worrying about exams at least for holidays!" Heather sighed, brushing a few long black locks off her pretty face and pulling her fur hood up to save her hairdo from falling snow. Her high hills rapped loudly as they walked, attracting everybody's attention to their small company. Of course, nobody was looking at Astrid – I mean there was seriously nothing to look at that time- Heather was the university queen as she was a daughter of a millionaire with lots of money on her credit cards. She always wore fashion and very expensive clothes – D&G, Oscar de la Renta, Elie Saab and many other names Astrid had never heard of. It was a weird friendship but a real one since Astrid was too proud to take advantage of Heather's status likewise her friend could easily be oblivious to the fact they were class enemies. _

"What is it?" the girl's voice breaks into narration; her favourite plush toy is clasped to her bosom but her face is too serious trying to figure out the meaning of unknown phrase. "Class enemies?"

"Class enemies…" auntie drawls as her brains try to find a proper answer as quickly as possible. Gods, her sister is going to kill her for teaching her prodigy child unnecessary adult stuff. "Erm… Class enemies, they are… you know… people who do nothing when your poor auntie is working!"

She glances at her watch, wishing for her parents to come home already, and continues her story.

"_Any plans for Christmas?" Astrid asked as they reached Heather's MINI and she unlocked the doors. It was Friday, the only day they could spend some time together and talk about anything but studies. They got inside and Heather answered, fastening her seatbelt. _

"_An isolated island, warm sun, a beach, cocktails and a dozen of topless men around me," she sighed happily and her friend giggled, not offended at all because it was so Heatherly thing to dream about._

"_I've already asked my father for our private plane," she added and started the engine. "I'm so tired of these endless Christmas parties! Invitations come every day! I've got at least five calls from that popular beefcake you like…"_

"Beefcake?"

The woman chuckles but explains:

"It's a very handsome, big and muscular man like…"

"Like Daddy?" the girl puts in, her tiny voice is full of adoration for her Daddy and for the first time her auntie really realizes how the world is different if you look at it from a five years old's perspective.

"Like Chris Evans, I'd say," she suggests, laughing nervously, "You will understand when you are older."

"You mean someone like Dwayne Johnson or Brendan Fraser?" her niece raises her wee eyebrow, too proud that she is able to understand it now.

"Exactly!" the woman nods but squints her eyes in suspicion. "How come?"

"Me and Daddy like watching The Mummy returns when Mommy isn't home," she whispers as if it's a big secret. "Don't tell her," she begs and looks at her aunt with these big eyes and it's impossible to say no.

"Deal. So, speaking of beefcakes…"

"…_from that popular beefcake you like…"_

"_You mean Snotlout, the POP-King?" Astrid squeaked, hands frozen on her seatbelt. He was her favourite singer, her ideal man and the only one she wished to marry someday. _

"_Yeah, that one," Heather nodded, trying not to laugh at her fangirling friend. She was literally like one of these poor things, ready to do anything for somebody they had never met before. Maybe, it was common among ordinary people, Heather didn't know. To change the subject she turned on the radio but unfortunately, the only song playing was Snotlout's latest hit. _

_Why did you come, so cold December?_

_Please, bring back the sun of warm yesterday,_

_Warm me again with the heat of your ember _

_Make me forget and please, stay, stay, stay…_

_Don't be so afraid of me, my baby_

_Come to me and help me, my sweet baby_

_And just for one night,_

_Pretend you are mine,_

_And then she says,_

"_Oh, yeah"_

_They drove to Heather's house, listening to that stupid song and dreaming of different things…_

"Hey, is there a prince in your fairytale?" the girl interrupts her aunt again, ghost of a smirk on her lips as she watches how fake surprise appears on woman's face.

"Of course, there is a prince," she admits. "He is just very busy, getting ready for the ball. And our Cinderella has been waiting meeting him…"

"For a day?"

"Her whole life, to be precise," she says dramatically but roguish twinkles give her away, "I'm joking; she wasn't expecting it at all. It was a private ball after all..."

Girl's mouth forms a big "O" and she asks, astonished:

"A real ball? In a castle?"

"Pff, can you find a castle in Berk?" the babysitter wonders and the girl shakes her head, "Neither can I."

"But where is the ball then?"

The woman grins.

"In the best night club in Berk!"

The girl frowns as if something doesn't add up in her head.

"How is Cinderella going to attend it without an invitation?"she finally asks.

Gods, this little terror is so clever for a five years old; the aunt is happy though to be around her just from time to time and she definitely isn't envy of her sister's motherhood.

"Listen further and find out."

"_So, you are not going to the party tomorrow?"Astrid asked after a while, avoiding looking at her friend as her brains were completely against the idea her heart was rooting for. _

"_No, I'm not. One hundred percent," Heather replied, too focused on the road._

_Now or never, Astrid decided and blurted out, blushing like she never did before:_

"_Will you give me a favour then?" _

"_Hm?"_

_Astrid wasn't that kind of person to ask for something; truth be told, she felt terrible because of it but the desperate need to try was stronger than her reasoning. _

"_Can you… if you are not going, it will be too bad and impolite to ignore, I mean, people are expecting you to come…"_

"_You want to come instead of me?"Heather realized._

"_Is it too much to ask?"Astrid's voice was quite and thin like she might be punished for the thought alone._

"_Of course, it's not! By all means, I'm glad you've decided to go out. Who knows what this party will bring?"_

"_Oh, Heather, thank you so much!"_

"_Don't thank me yet," her friend chuckled then winked, "I also have one old dress you can borrow for the party."_

"_Have I told you that you are the best?"Astrid's eyes were shining like the brightest stars in the sky and no one was happier than she was at that moment._

"_Like the millionth time by now."_

_So later that day, Astrid came back home with the invitation in her purse, criminally beautiful dress by Marc Jacobs and shoes by Jimmy Choo which Heather generously allowed her to borrow. She had watched dozens of YouTube tutorials about makeup and hairdos before she chose the simple but elegant ones. The party was arranged for tomorrow and the young princess was determined to be absolutely perfect for it. That was her only chance to meet the prince._

_Meanwhile, the prince or the Pop-King, to be exactly, was watching his newest video with Eret, his producer, on a big screen in his flat. The singer wore tight pink jeans and sleeveless blue jacket to emphasize his muscles and perfect body; the lights in that video made his skin literally glowing. While Snotlout couldn't take his eyes of himself, his producer hid his face in hands, sick of too sexy moves on TV. _

"_Have you ever seen such perfection?" the singer asked and turned to Eret, smiling from ear to ear. He had never been prouder of himself like that before. "That's what I call a success!"_

_His producer sighed, not sharing his enthusiasm at all. _

"_Five years, Snot," he began, "We have been making you look like a real man, macho, for five years! And you've thrown all my hard efforts into the bin by doing __**this**__!"_

_Eret pointed at the screen where his protégé was twerking his ass in those ridiculously pink jeans. _

"_Being a real man is too boring nowadays," he chuckled, "There's got to be something special and unique!"_

"_So keep it this way if you want to be an idol for a small group of teenagers!"_

"_I'm popular!"he retorted, looking really offended. _

"_No, not anymore at least," Eret sighed bitterly. "Your ratings are falling down."_

"_Oh, no!" Snot's mouth fell open like he was a fish on a shore, far away for a save touch of a wave. "We need to do something! I can't … I can't…"_

"_You need to get married!"Eret finished as he studied his protégé's reaction and it was exactly like he had expected. _

"_MARRIED?"The star yelled , hands on his hips. _

"_Yes! Such unexpected and big event can raise you up! All magazines, newspapers, websites will be screaming about it!"He pushed as he knew it was the only way to save himself and that idiot while they still had an opportunity to do so. _

"_But what if I don't want to marry someone?"_

"_Then you can bid your career farewell."_

"He's not a real prince, isn't he?" the girl frowns, aware of her aunt's strange sense of humour. Maybe, she is joking again.

"He is," she admits and continues.

_And while he was thinking about what to do and our Cinderella was practicing with eyeliner and eye shadows, one clumsy page worked around the clock to be sure that everything would be just fine for the party. _

"Who is a page?"

"That's a person who does small jobs in the house or in our case, in Gobber's night club."

_Hiccup hadn't slept for 2 days or if he did drift off, he w__щ__ke up instantly to check his list of important tasks again. It was ok for a manager who had a big party tomorrow and a strict boss he wanted to prove himself to. He arrived at the club earlier than usual and set up some walkie-talkies for today before other workers came. He ordered to bring Christmas tree from the back, to set it properly and decorate it with ornaments he also brought with him. After that, he was asked to take a look at the dancers for tomorrow; it was strange to view five almost naked women in shiny bras and panties, dancing to Lady Marmelade for good five minutes and find absolutely nothing erotic in their performance. There wasn't anything wrong with him though, he was simply exhausted. _

"_Good job, girls," he praised, thumbs up, and left to check on the tree when Gobber's voice called him through walkie-talkie in his office._

_Hiccup adjusted some tablecloths on his way before he knocked on Gobber's door and opened it._

"_Do you need me?" he asked as he found his boss in front of his computer, reading something._

"_Yes, add one more name to the list of guests,"_

"_Easy," a young man nodded, fished a pen out from his green cardigan and opened his folder. "Who is coming?"_

"_Stoick Haddock."_

_His hand froze, eyes opened wide in terror as he processed the information._

"_Haddock," he repeated, not quite believing his ears. And then it hit him. "Mr Belch, it's not possible, there are no free tables or seats, you know, everything is booked for six month ahead," he babbled without stopping until Gobber cut him off._

"_I'm sure you will come up with something. You are a smart boy, I do not employ fools."_

_He went out and brushed his hand through his auburn hair, praying for it to be just a nightmare. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. It wasn't a nightmare, it was worse - it was reality. _

"_Ta ta da, we're doomed," he murmured and returned to the hall. _

"_Hey, Hiccup," Mulch called him, waving from the corner to come up. The young man crossed the distance to find Mulch and Bucket near a tree on the floor. _

"_Do we need to set it as we usually do?" they asked and Hiccup groaned as a wish to go and bump his head hard against the wall was getting stronger every minute. _

"_Not as you usually do but very carefully," he replied though, too tired to even sound irritated. He moved further, planning to check on preparations in the bar, however, as soon as he turned around, something fell with a loud __**boom**__! He knew that it was the tree and that a few glass baubles were probably broken for good – he could see that coming. It was his personal stigma; no matter how hard he was trying, a disaster was inevitable. _

_He sighed deeply; he still had some time to lessen the upcoming scope of it at least._

_Heather, meantime, was having dinner with her dad and brother; it was their last meal as family this year as she was leaving later today for her holidays. However, it wasn't any kind of celebration because men were chewing their meal in absolute silence as if they were ignoring each other. No doubt, her brother, Dagur, messed up again but they never brought business to home. _

"_Why the long faces?" she dared to ask, meeting her brother's green eyes which were screaming at her to shut up. _

"_We will celebrate tomorrow when I will sell Dagur's Porsche," her father growled and Heather giggled. Oh, her dearest brother messed up pretty badly. _

"_And the day after tomorrow I will sell yours MINI," he finished in a dismal voice._

"_What?" the young woman gasped, "no, WHY?"_

"_Because your father is not a millionaire anymore, thanks to a gambler you call your brother!"_

_She turned to Dagur, her anger boiling deep inside and waiting for a right moment to erupt: he smiled shyly as he created one by saying:_

"_But I know how to fix it!"_

"_You!" she screamed as she pointed her knife at him, "You should have fixed it a long time ago by stopping gambling!" _

"_I tried…" he mumbled, eyes focused on the knife a few inches away from his nose._

"_You didn't," Heather said coldly._

"_Isn't it too late for such discussions?" their father asked dryly. "We need to find a way out of __**this**__."_

"_Open to suggestions," Heather sighed and placed her fork and knife near her almost empty plate. _

_Knowing her brother, the depths had to be very big, let alone percents; they could sell their cars, some of her clothes and moved into smaller house but it wouldn't be enough. _

"_In the casino somebody said that…" Dagur began, unsure how to present his plan right. _

"_Don't you dare," Heather snapped out, giving him a scowl._

"_Hey, hear me out! I'm trying__ to fix_ _everything!" he pulled his hands up and glanced at his father, seeking for support…_

"_You've already done enough…"Mr Berserker sighed but Dagur was not going to give up that quickly. _

"_Anyway, a friend of mine said that Stoick Haddock was coming to Berk…"_

"_Haddock, a billionaire from New York?" Mr Berserker frowned._

"_Yes!" Dagur exclaimed and added with a smirk: "He is going to the party tomorrow in Gobber's club. And the best part of it – he has a meeting with __**his son**__ there!" _

"_And?" Heather raised her eyebrows, mirroring his smirk. "How is that going to help us to repay your depths?" _

"_Snotlout , the Pop-King, is the headliner of that evening, sis, now, add a billionaire to this equation and…"_

"_These are only rumours!" his sister chuckled._

"_But when these rumours would become real, it would be nice to be engage with the heir of ten milliards."_

"_Is this Snotlout a …" Mr Berserker began, looking very uncertain about this part. _

"_No," Dagur shook his head, "that is why I need your help, sis, since you have an invitation…"_

"_Forget about it," she cut him off. Yes, his plan was easy and quite promising but she would be the one doing the dirty work. _

"_So, it's settled then," Dagur smiled bitterly and looked around the dining room as if he was bidding it farewell. "We are selling everything we have and moving to one room flat where we will eat sushi for the rest of our lives!"_

_The young woman groaned, frowning, but her damn brother was right, it was their only chance to keep the lights on. _

"_Fine! I'll do it," she bit and stood up, "But I need to make a call first."_

_Men nodded; her brother's face was beaming with triumph whereas her father gave her a sympathetic smile. _

_She went to her room and locked the door, searching for her best friend's name in among others in her phone. _

"_Hey, Astrid, it's Heather," she said when her friend had answered. "I'm so sorry, but I need that invitation back…" _

_**To be continued… **_

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! ****Tell me if want to read more:)**

**You can also find me on tumblr aka msdownwithlove if you have questions;)**


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